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Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) School and Applied Child Psychology - on campus

In addition to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Education requirements, entry requirements for the PhD degree in School and Applied Child Psychology include:

a) A completed thesis-based Master’s degree in School and Applied Child Psychology or equivalent from an approved university, with a minimum grade point average of 3.50 in the Master’s degree. If coursework from an applicant’s Master’s degree is not equivalent to courses from the Master of Science in School and Applied Child Psychology at the University of Calgary, the student will be required to take additional courses within the doctoral degree to ensure equivalent training but these prerequisite courses will need to be completed before the doctoral candidacy examination.

b) A typed résumé and a concise rationale (500 words or less) for the application.

c) Two letters of reference.

Additional Requirements:

d) A list of any academic awards, achievements, honors or other distinctions you have received. Itemize the monetary amount and the total.

e) A list of all publications and conference presentations you have on your résumé and specify whether the work was peer reviewed or non-peer reviewed.

f) Information about any financial support for your degree in the form of an award, sponsorship, or other. Please indicate the dollar amount and duration of the support, and when it is to start.

g) A list of any professional school psychology experience you have had (employment or volunteer). Please specify full-time or part-time and for how long. If part-time, please specify how many hours per week.

h) A short statement of your research experience (approximately 200 words) with respect to your previous research experience and the research you would like to pursue in this degree.

The deadline for the submission of complete applications is December 1 for September admission.

The applicant must make advanced credit requests as part of the admission process. Credit will not be given for course work taken as part of another completed degree/diploma or for courses taken to bring grade point average to a required level for admission.

In addition to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Education requirements, the degree program requires the following:

a) A minimum of two (2) doctoral-level full-course equivalents (normally Educational Psychology 691, 731, 732, and 795);

b) A non-credit research seminar;

c) Candidacy examination;

d) A twelve-month (min. 1600 hours) full-time internship; and

e) Dissertation.

Students entering the degree following completion of a Master's degree outside the degree may be required to take additional Master's courses to ensure equivalency to the Master of Science degree in School and Applied Child Psychology at the University of Calgary. A student may be deficient in no more than two half courses, which must be completed in the first year of Doctor of Philosophy studies.

Detailed information on core course requirements can be obtained from the Faculty of Education website.

Note: First year students are assigned an interim advisor who will assist with course selection.

Applied experience is an asset. PhD students are expected to undertake clients from the University of Calgary Applied Psychological and Educational (UCAPES) clinic and supervise MSc students in the on-campus practicum courses under the guidance of a qualified professional.

Graduate Programs in Education does not normally accept undergraduate courses for credit toward graduate degrees.

The Doctor of Philosophy degree should be completed in four years. Maximum completion time allowed for the Doctor of Philosophy degree is six years.

Students are responsible for initiating discussions with potential permanent supervisors and are expected to have finalized supervisory arrangements by their second annual registration.

Candidacy

Candidacy must be completed within 28 months from the program start date. Admission to candidacy is an acknowledgement that a student is fully prepared to devote his/her full attention to the dissertation research. For admission to candidacy, the Faculty of Graduate Studies requires that (1) all mandatory course work has been completed, (2) an oral candidacy examination has been successfully passed, and (3) a dissertation research proposal has been approved by the student’s Supervisory Committee. For further information, please consult the Graduate Programs in Education website.

Dissertation

The Doctoral thesis is the focus of the degree program. In consultation with the supervisor, the student should formulate an appropriate thesis topic as early as possible in the program because the thesis proposal affects the choice and number of courses needed in order to complete the program.

Information on research proposals is available through the interim advisor/supervisor.

Ethics approval is required for all research projects involving the use of human subjects, before data collection begins. Prior to submitting an ethics application, students must complete Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans: A Concise, Online Tutorial, http://www.ucalgary.ca/research/ethics/CORE_Tutorial, and attach the certificate issued upon completion to the ethics application form.

To initiate the ethics approval process, the student must submit a copy of the application (available on the Research Services website) to the Conjoint Faculties Research Ethics Board or the Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board.

None.

Financial assistance may be available to qualified students. For information on awards, see the Awards and Financial Assistance section of this Calendar.

Students applying for scholarships for September admission must submit their scholarship applications to the Graduate Programs in Education office by the preceding February 1.

Graduate Programs in Education also provides assistance for students through teaching assistantships, graduate research scholarships and other scholarships. Application forms and deadline information for these awards can be obtained from Graduate Programs in Education.

For further information contact Graduate Programs in Education, http://ucalgary.ca/gpe/specializations.

Research interests of faculty members and adjunct faculty can be found at: http://ucalgary.ca/gpe/faculty-members.